


Coming Clean

by Rioghna



Series: Falling [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Stargate Universe
Genre: Angst, F/M, Rush!Belle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-03-08 17:18:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3217259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rioghna/pseuds/Rioghna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Showers and confessions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coming Clean

Shower

Belle walked into the shower room with her kit, hoping that a bit of misty, steamy, not quite water would ease her mind. One of the cubicles was already occupied, but it was at the far end of the room and she reasoned that whoever it was in there would be gone before she finished. A lot of people on Destiny found the showers just a little disconcerting. Besides, most people were used to communal showers and really good at being respectful enough to ignore one another. 

She stood under the shower thinking about work, thinking about translations, anything but Dr. Nicholas Bloody Rush. She vaguely thought she heard the sound of the other shower turn off. It was enough to make Belle decide to wait a couple of moments more, and give them time to move on.

Finally, after judging that enough time had passed, she fumbled for her towel and dried herself before securing it and stepping from the compartment and into the last person she was prepared to see.

"Dr. Rush..." she sputtered, clutching the fabric to her. 

"Dr. French." Rush was half dressed, blue jeans hanging loose on his hips, unbuttoned, shirtless, his hair damp from the shower. Never had he looked more desirable, or more surprised. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself of the last few days, of the way he had been avoiding her, or had she been avoiding him, she wasn't certain which anymore. Still Belle decided to do the brave thing. It had not always worked out for her, but it was much better than the uncertain way they had been stepping around one another. 

"Dr. Rush, about the other day..."

"I've been meaning," he said at exactly the same moment. They both laughed, breaking some of the tension. There was little else they could do. 

"Dr. Rush..." she started again. 

"I'm sorry," Rush blurted out. 

"What?" she asked, confused, her train of thought completely derailed 

"It was... I'm not certain what, but my intent wasn't to harass you. I..."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" she asked, adjusting her towel more tightly. 

"The misunderstanding the other day. I realise that I shouldn't have..."

"Misunderstanding?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that what you call avoiding me for the last two days?" she could feel her temper rising. Bloody man, just like Rumplestiltskin, just as infuriating. 

"I've not been avoiding you," he protested. "I...that is, I wanted to give you some time before dealing with my presumption," he fumbled. This most certainly wasn't going the way he had thought it would. 

"Your presumption is right," Belle shot back at him. She wasn't sure exactly why his failure to comprehend was angering her so much. Maybe it was just the stress of going from where they had been to this...whatever it was. She didn't like being at odds with the man, or no more than she usually was. She knew at least some of it was her fault after all. Belle had lost her nerve and now he had entirely the wrong idea, and she still wasn't certain what to do about it. "I'm the one who kissed you," she told him, trying to hold her frustration in.

"No you didn't," he said. "Why would you do that?' he asked, in that infuriating, endearing, befuddled tone that she usually heard only when she woke him or did something nice for him. In that way he was very like Rumple, uncertain to the point of suspicion of anyone who might be kind to him. 

"Because I wanted to? I thought..." she started, but stopped. There was no point. If he was interested in her, surely he would have shown some sign. Instead he was talking about misunderstandings, and being more than his usually socially clue impervious self. "Never mind," she said, gathering her things, hoping she could leave with her dignity, or what was left of it intact. She had admitted to kissing him. 

"No, you aren't. You're not just going to walk out like that," he said reaching out for her. "What did you mean," he growled at her. Belle pulled away, dropping her kit. 

"I thought that you might have some... interest. Clearly I was wrong. Perhaps if we avoid each other for another couple of days we can go back to treating each other as colleagues. We can pretend that this little incident never happened. Don't worry, I'll not bother you again," she said. 

Rush was gobsmacked. He had been agonising over his screw up and she... His train of thought derailed as Belle blushed from her hairline all the way down (and down was not a place he needed to be thinking of right now when he needed a clear head to figure out how exactly he had screwed up and how to fix it). While he was trying to sort his own mind, she just fled. Still wrapped in her towel, she left everything where it was on the floor, pulled away from him and left. 

"Dr....Belle...No, wait," he said as he realised that a) she was getting away, and b) he was being an unmitigated bastard, letting her think that he didn't want...oh, hell, he wanted all of it, everything she was willing to give him and here he was, bollucking it up again. He should have gone after her the other day, not allowed himself to be a coward. They had just wasted two days! Without even thinking or stopping to grab his shirt, he followed her the short distance down the corridor, reaching her door just as it slid closed in his face. 

He paused for only a moment before he pounded on the door with the flat of his hand. "Belle, please, will ye open the door?"

"Go away," she said and it sounded as if she might be crying. Swearing at himself for the biggest arse in this or any other galaxy, he pounded on the door again. They made a prize pair of boobies, he thought. 

"Belle, please, I'm sorry...I... let me in, please. I've been a bloody fool and I don't want to be groveling in the corridor."

He leaned back against the door, wondering what to do when it slid open. "You are a fool, you know," she said. 

"Am, yeah. I...can we please have this inside?" Nicholas asked, his voice softening. He was still in shock, realising that not only had he been beating himself up for apparently nothing, but so had she, and if she felt anything like he did, they probably shouldn't be having this conversation now, but it was the only way either of them was going to fell better. But this was not something for a public corridor, even a less used one. 

Belle stepped back inside and he followed, suddenly even more intensely aware of Belle's state of undress, wearing nothing more than her towel. She bit her lip and looked up into his eyes and he was lost. With no thought at all, he reached out and Belle was in his arms, as the door slid closed behind them with a clang.


	2. Getting Dirty

A very tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered to Rush that he might should slow down, but he couldn't find it in him to care, not at that moment. She was warm and welcoming and dammit they were both off shift. If he couldn't be exploring the mysteries of the ship's systems, he'd be damned if he didn't need to explore this beautiful, confusing, infuriating woman. Even now, despite the confusion and this miscommunication, she was right here, in his arms, making the most enticing sounds he could remember.

Instead, he ignored the voice of reason and deepened the kiss, gasping just a little as Belle tightened her arms around him. Rush pulled her closer and began backing her toward the bed, hoping they could get there before his shaky knees gave out. Dear God, what she was doing to him? The rational part of his mind was still trying to get through to him, telling him to slow down. They should talk, but right now everything was being drowned out by the flood of need and want, and other things best not examined too closely right now. The two days of waiting, of wondering, while his body ached to touch and be touched by her, reminding him exactly how isolated he had been, had almost driven him mad. Now her small hands were on him, one stroking down his back, the other tangled in his long hair. It was too much. He promised himself that it would get sorted later. If this night was all he got, he would take it and be grateful. On the other hand if she wanted more, anything, everything, he would do his best to give it to her. The past, his loss and her's, they didn't matter. The edge of the bed met them and he told his rational mind to bugger off.

Belle wrapped her arms around him. One minute, Nicholas Rush had been apologising for being an idiot, the next they were in one another's arms, and she couldn't have said at that moment who started it. It seemed that they had both just given up, and given in. Talking, they should be talking, deciding exactly what was happening between them. Instead they were wrapped around each other, mostly undressed, and kissing as if the world was ending. Right now, here alone in the dark and the cold, Belle needed him. Not just the comfort and the warmth of another body beside her in the bed, she needed Rush.

It had been so long. When she first came to this world, she had tried to deny it. She'd always been a tactile person, but after losing everyone, she just stopped reaching out. Then she came to Destiny, and met Rush again, properly this time. For the first time in a long time, she felt the need to reach out. She had found him prickly, harsh, and reluctant to believe or accept anything from anyone else. A hand on his arm, a slap on the back, and he flinched like he was expecting a blow. In that way he was like Rumplestiltskin, but that wasn't something she wanted to think about now. She wanted to be here with Dr. Nicholas Rush and no one else. Now that she was wrapped in his arms, it didn't matter that this was probably a bad idea. It was what she needed.

"Belle," he growled against the edge of her jaw. "If this isn't...tell me and I'll stop. Whatever, however much..."

"Don't..." she whispered. Rush stopped, just froze completely in place. "No, don't stop," Belle told him as she slid down onto the cover of the bed. She let her hands slip down his arms to take his and pull him to her. "Rush..."

He didn't require anymore encouragement, sliding down onto the bed next to her and pulled her to him. "Nick, my name is Nick," he whispered harshly into her ear as he nipped at her earlobe. "I want to hear you say my name. I need to know you want this as much as I do." The statement came out roughly as if speaking was an effort. Part of him wanted to take it back, he didn't want to sound that raw or that needy. He was torn. The opportunity was right here and he wanted to have her now, his own desire pushing against the barely fastened up zip of his jeans making every movement uncomfortable in the best possible way. On the other hand, he wanted to spend hours, get to know every possible part of her, explore and see exactly what it was that made her come undone. He wanted to know her with the same deep desire that he wanted to delve into Destiny's inner mysteries, and something about that would have scared him if he had more brains to spare.

He pulled his hand away from hers and slipped it into her hair, pulling her in for a kiss as he eased her down to lay across the bed. Slow, he could do slow, he decided. _Don't waste this chance,_ his inner voice whispered, if it never comes again, at least you will have something. The towel was still wrapped around her, but it was busy coming loose as she lay back. Rush began to kiss his way down her throat, taking his time and trying to distract himself from his own growing need. He looked up into her eyes as he slipped the towel apart, wanting to be certain. Belle's nod was all the confirmation he needed.

Laying back, Belle looked up at Rush...at Nick. His eyes were dark, his hair hanging in his face as he gazed down at her making no effort to hide his feelings. He kept his eyes locked onto hers as he tugged the towel open. Under it, she was wearing nothing and he made his appreciation clear as his breath drew in suddenly. "Beautiful," he whispered, stroking her gently. "You have no idea how long I've wanted..."

"I was pretty sure you didn't even notice that I was female at first," Belle said, quietly. He leaned over an kissed her hard enough to take her breath away.

"Oh, I noticed," he whispered, kissing his way down her throat. "I noticed every day, every time you put a hand on my arm, or leaned over my shoulder. Just didn't think you were interested in me. In case you've not noticed, I'm hardly the most..." he paused to nibble at her collarbone, distracted from whatever it was he had been trying to say. Why were they talking again? something in the back of his head popped up. Or if they were going to talk, they shouldn't be... Belle's hand slid through his hair, and whatever it was he had been considering at that moment, fled. How she knew it was such a turn on for him, he didn't stop to wonder or to care, only to appreciate.

Rush groaned and then bent to take her nipple between his lips. Then it was her turn to groan, a sweet needy sound that almost made him change his mind and his tactics. How long had it been since anyone had responded to him with anything but anger? Certainly not with pleasure. There had been no one, not since Gloria. Oh, there had been a few offers when he was at the university, one had even turned into a drunken fumble, but Nick had not been able to go through with it. Now, this beautiful woman was laying beneath him and oh, she was so responsive.

"Nick..." The sweet hiss of his name caused him to release her breast and turn his attention to the other one. Belle tugged at his hair and he dragged himself away to return to her mouth.

"Belle, I want..." She distracted him, reaching down between them to find his zip.

"I think I have a pretty good idea what it is you want," she told him. He was wondering how she could string a sentence together, when his brain was currently mush and her hand stroking the denim between them wasn't improving things.

He tugged her hand away and pulled it to his mouth. "Not yet, there is time..." Rush told her.

"No, no more time," she said. "We've taken too much time. We'll just screw up again." Belle grabbed the tab of his zip and pulled it down carefully. Rush had only a moment before she released him from the denim, discovering in the process that, like her towel, he was wearing nothing else. She gave him a smirk.

"Laundry day," he said with a sheepish shrug before pulling away enough to remove his trousers. The moment they hit the floor he was back on the bed, with an armful of Belle pressing against him in the most delicious way imaginable. "Easy, love," he said, barely noticing the endearment as it slipped out. "Wouldn't want to finish up too quickly." She made a sort of impatient huff and he rolled her on the her back. "I want us both to enjoy this. I've wanted you since the first week on Destiny. I'll not waste..."

"There will be time later," she told him. "Right now, I want you inside me."

The words almost undid him right there. More time, she had just...before he could let his mind lead down that rabbit hole, he eased himself between her thighs, stroking her skin. He could feel the dampness, and he took a moment to slip his fingers gently over her lower lips, bringing his moist fingers to his lips for a taste, all the while locking eyes with Belle. He wanted her to know exactly what he wanted to do with her, or at least some of it. She gasped and one leg slipped over his hip, encouraging him.

Nick shifted his position and slid into her. Belle gasped and he stilled, looking inquiringly, but she moved, her other leg coming up to wrap around his waist encouragingly. "Been a while for me," she whispered as she dragged his lips down to hers. He gasped against her, moving slowly. She felt heavenly, much better than his fantasies or dreams. She was warm, soft, and he could feel her clutching at him, encouraging him.

"And I also," he whispered as he pulled away from her mouth allowing them both to gulp air, before returning to kissing her. He was trying to slow down, but she was having none of it. Belle reached up and tangled one hand in his hair, the other dragging her short nails over his back.

"Nick," she gasped as he shifted his position, a sweet, hungry sound. Instantly he did it again, shifting, learning her as surely as he learned everything.

"That's it, sweetheart, let go for me," he growled, nipping at her neck. Belle gasped and cried out, something that might have been his name, but as she tipped over the edge, she took him with her, and their voices mingled in a chorus that lovers understood.

Belle was still trying to catch her breath when Nick collapsed against her, panting just as hard. He felt so good, so warm. It had been a long time since she had let anyone get that close, but with Nick it felt right somehow.

"Christ," he swore softly. "Belle, That...I should." He shifted off her. She let him, reluctantly, only now wondering what was going to happen. But Nick only moved from on top of her, collapsing to the bed next to her. "I...we..." He started carefully. It wasn't like Nick to be uncertain, but at the moment, he was downright bemused. Then Belle yawned and he joined her. The last two days of stress and sleeplessness combined with their...activities, had left them both warm, relaxed, and sleepy.

"We can talk, we should talk," she said, but she snuggled closer to him, no sign that she wanted to move, and he certainly didn't.

"Time enough, when we wake," he said.

"Stay?" she questioned but was asleep before he could reply, and so was he, the sleep of the exhausted and content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. If you know, writing smut is not easy for me. It gives me hives and makes me nervous. Please let me know what you think.


	3. Talking

Nicholas Rush woke warm, comfortable and decidedly not alone. Doctor Belle French was curled up in his arms. For a moment, he thought he must be dreaming, but in all the dreams he'd had, and there had been many, he'd never imagined what it would be to wake up with her. He'd imagined her in his bed, hers, the shower, against the wall in the corridor where he did his calculations, and that one memorable one of her straddling him in the chair at his work station in the control console room, but never awakening with her. But now was most definitely not the time to be thinking about that. Actually it was not the time to be thinking of anything but what he was going to say.

Belle and he would need to talk and soon. Nick was almost certain that she wanted something more than just a night, the scratch of an itch. She just didn't seem like the kind. Certainly he knew she had never been with any of the other members of the crew. But they had not said...anything actually. They had fallen on one another in desperation, in fact, they had...

Suddenly Rush remembered exactly how desperate. Belle's clothes and his, and both of their shower kits were left behind in their hurry. He swore quietly. Not that he cared much. But he was fairly certain that the last thing that either of them needed or wanted was someone finding their things and coming to looking for them. The only thing that had prevented it so far was that the shower was not one of the more popular, being on a sparsely populated corridor. Careful not to disturb Belle, Rush slipped out of bed and found his jeans. If he was lucky, he would be back with her and in bed before she could wake. 

He had just done up the zip and was headed for the door when he was stopped cold by a voice. "So now that you've gotten what you wanted, I guess you are just leaving." Belle's voice was cold and angry. "Suppose I should be glad you didn't leave notes on the nightstand. Now you can go back to ignoring me." There was a bitterness in her voice that Nick was almost sure covered a deep hurt, but he wasn't going to let her just assume.

"Is that what you really think of me?" His anger was starting to override his surprise "What do you...It isn't...."

'What it looks like? It looks like you preparing to sneak out of my room without waking me up," she shot back. 

"I am not sneaking, and I wasn't leaving. What do you think this was to me? What? A...." he sputtered trying to find a good way of expressing himself. "A bloody booty call?" The phrase crawled out of some place in the back of his mind. The words were both angry and completely incongruous coming from him, and for the moment they both stared at one another in shock. Nick paused, focusing. "I was getting dressed, but only to go as far as the shower. As you said, we should talk, but I thought that would be better accomplished without interruption. That is not going to happen if someone goes into the shower and finds our kit." He ran a distracted hand through his already disarranged hair. 

Belle looked at him. She was blushing all the way down, disappearing where the blanket was pulled to her chest, once again distracting him with thoughts that would definitely not improve the current situation. "I'm sorry. It's just with everything that's happened, and you standing there looking like you were about to sneak off, all I could think was...We hadn't exactly communicated."

"I know what it looked like, and I certainly never meant it that way. I didn't think. I was hoping to be back before you noticed," he said honestly. It wasn't easy. He was better at hiding than being honest.

"Go."

Rush slipped into the corridor, intent on obtaining their things and returning to Belle's side. There was much they needed to discuss. He needed to know what it was she wanted, and he swore he would give her whatever it was, regardless of how he felt. Plus there was the time factor. 

There was always the ship, aways Young, aliens, and who knew what else that would come between them. Their life was anything but safe. He picked up Belle's shower kit before gathering her clothes. Nick lifted her shirt to his face breathing in her scent before scooping his own things up haphazardly. Why a shirt when he could be there with her. 

Rush looked out of the shower room and down the corridor. Seeing no one, he hurried back down the corridor to Belle's room and knocked on the bulkhead furitively, while he looked left and right. He wasn't ashamed, not at all, but he also wasn't certain what they had or how Belle felt about it, any of it. 

"Come," Belle said and he slipped inside, dropping his burden on the bed. Belle reached out and grabbed blindly at the first thing she could find, his tee shirt, and slipped it on. 

"If ye think that's supposed to give me incentive to talk rather than all the other things I would rather do..." Nick smiled. He'd never been good at flirting, but he was just being honest.

"What makes you think I'm interested in what you want?" she asked. 

"I..." he paused, confused and wrongfooted. It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed. 

"Talk first," she told him, patting the bed, but she was smiling shyly. 

Rush nodded and sat, but not too close. She was still in the bed, his tee shirt covering her to the waist, though it was big enough that it did little to hide her from him. The room smelt of sex and with her sitting in the rumpled bed, all he could think about was earlier and the way she fell into his arms. 

"What do you want, Nick?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been reading this. Hope you enjoy the latest installment.


	4. Talk interrupted

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied, trying to buy some time.

"You could, but I asked you first."  She threw it straight back to him.

"I..." Nicholas Rush paused, trying to gather his thoughts. He settled for the truth. "I'm rubbish at personal relationships, at...actually I'm rubbish with people, full stop."

"I might just have noticed that," Belle responded. "But despite that, we ended up here. So the question is, what do you want from...well from me, I suppose. Do you want a..."

"I want you," he said, running a distracted hand though his long hair. "That's about all I know. I can't really bring myself to...when I lost my wife..." He stopped. He didn't want this, that was for sure, he didn't want to be sitting in the bed with a woman he was deeply attracted to, talking about his wife, or his loss. Instead he turned his gaze towards where Belle was sitting on the bed, his tee shirt hanging off one shoulder, making it easier not to think of anything but her. She could be his future. She reached out and gently put her hand on his arm.

"I know. Maybe we should just take things as they go?"

"But I don't...I don't want this to be..." Rush started to say. He felt miserable. To be honest, he'd never been any better at casual sex than he had been at relationships. Numbers were much easier, they were elegant, and never expected you to call the next day.

"I'm not saying we go back, nor am I suggesting we treat this as a...what did you say? A 'booty call'? I am just saying that knowing we want something out of this, out of us, perhaps that is all we need, at least for now?"

"I'm not sure I can do that Belle, but I will try," he said, hoping he sounded sincere. To be honest, even the littlest part of her sounded good to him, but she was probably right, and he would follow her lead. "Now, perhaps we could continue where we..."

"Doctor French, what's your location?" The radio on the night table blarred at them. Rush scowled at it. He wanted more time, he wanted more Belle. She had given him an opening, the potential for something, whatever it turned into. It wasn't everything, but it was good. He'd never been one for dating. His longest relationship had been with his wife, actually it had been his only real relationship. The odd date (usually a one off, because he screwed it up), maybe a quick shag when he was at uni and had too much to drink, he usually didn't have to worry about more, his personality drove them off. But this was at least a potential. They had worked together thus far and she still wanted, God knew why, to be with him in some manner. She welcomed him into her room, into her bed. Now, the ship was dragging them apart already, before they had a chance to continue.

"I'm off duty, what do you need?" she asked shortly. Clearly he wasn't the only one who didn't like being interrupted.

"Do you know where Rush is? He's not answering his radio." It was Young, of course.

"Why on earth would I know? As far as I am aware, he's also off duty," she responded with a smile on her lips, holding up a finger for him to be quiet . "His radio might be off if he's sleeping. What do you need?" she reiterated.

"I need Rush to answer his radio," the colonel said, frustrated. "They want us on Earth. One of the scientists there has a new idea about getting us back to Earth. I'm sorry to interrupt your down time, but I have checked the console room, observation and the mess. No one has seen him since late last night. I suppose I will have to send someone to find him."

"I'll go get him, Colonel," she offered quickly. "His quarters are much closer to mine anyway. It's only a quick trip. What should I tell him?"

"Tell him I need him to meet me in communication in an hour. If you can't find him, let me know, and thank you. Young out."

"I hope you didn't think that I was ashamed of you being here, but I thought, well, while we were figuring things out that..."

"Not at all, I wouldn't want to embarrass..."

"Stop that right now! I am not the least bit embarrassed by you. I just thought we would prefer a little privacy while we are figuring things out, that's all. I...well, I would like to keep us to ourselves, you know what a fishbowl this place can be," she told him, blushing in the most distracting and endearing way. "So, Doctor Rush, you are needed in communication in an hour. That means I suppose we should get ourselves dressed and go get something to eat." She started to stand, but he reached out for her.

"I can think of something much better, and much more appetizing," he said, pulling her into his arms. He might be uncertain about this whole thing, but he decided he was going to take his chances. Rush moved slowly, allowing her to pull away if she wanted, but instead she followed his lead into his lap, allowing him to kiss her, long and slow. "An hour is not nearly enough time to do everything I would like," he whispered into her ear.

"Nor me, but we could make a start," she suggested as he tugged up the tee shirt and banished it over the side of the bed.

"You are far too young and too beautiful for me," he whispered as he caressed her.

"None of that," she responded, slapping gently at him. "There isn't enough room in this bed for you, me, and whatever insecurities led us to wasting the last couple of days. We could have been here the whole time."

That was a much better thought, and Rush decided that she had a point, several actually. He would take all that he could get, and let the rest take care of itself, he decided as he laid her back on the rumpled sheets. "Now, where was I?" he asked, returning to kiss her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the final bit of this story. Will I continue this 'verse? Probably, when I have a chance or an idea about what is coming next for this version of Rush and Belle. Please read, review and all that sort of thing. Thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> So the third in the series that began with Accident and Incident. Thanks for reading and thanks to BardicRaven for the beta. And yes, there will be more.


End file.
